On Wednesday, September 14, Kim McGuire—actress, author, and attorney—died at the age of 60 at a hospital in Florida. McGuire was best known for her role as Mona “Hatchet-Face” Malnorowski in John Water’s 1990 film Cry-Baby, costarring Johnny Depp and Ricki Lake.
Her husband, Gene Piotrowsky, told TMZ that earlier in the week doctors “discovered Kim had a bad case of pneumonia and put her in the ICU. However, Kim didn’t take well to treatment and she went into cardiac arrest twice, passing away on Wednesday.”
According to Suzy Hixson, a family friend who started a GoFundMe page to help Piotrowsky cover funeral expenses, both McGuire (a Louisiana native) and her husband have been suffering from physical and mental health issues since being forced to swim from their home during Hurricane Katrina. During the hurricane, they lost all their belongings and were forced to relocate to Naples, Florida.
In addition to her scene-stealing role in Cry-Baby (there’s nothing wrong with her face! She’s got character!), McGuire had a small part in Waters’ Serial Mom and appeared on the short-lived sitcom Acting on Impulse. After deciding to leave the film industry in the mid-nineties, McGuire went on to become an attorney and practicing law in multiple states. She spent her last years writing books alongside her husband.
“Kim ‘Hatchet-Face’ McGuire, my best friend and the love of my life, past [sic] away this afternoon,” Piotrowsky wrote on Twitter Wednesday night. “I love you so much.”
We love you, too, Mona.